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their Bibles whenever they see the need. I’m sure they think I’m going straight to hell.”
    Just then I noticed Laura looking our way from her “safe” table with her “safe” ftiends, andI felt certain that she would be somewhat shocked to hear our conversation. And that bothered me. Sometimes I feel like I’m this giant rubber band stretched between these two totally different worlds. Not that I feel guilty for hanging with the kids with problems. Fact is, we all have problems. But sometimes I feel uncomfortable being caught in the middle and I wonder why we can’t all just get along—despite our differences.
    DIVERSITY
You made each one
so different
so unique
our fingerprints are one of a kind
You wove our genes
so creatively
imaginatively
matchlessly
You are the Great Creator
teach me to appreciate
Your variety
Your innovation
Your diversity
And to live for Your purposes

Four
Saturday, April 19
    We had a great practice session today. Well, until the end, that is. Then Laura dropped her little bombshell.
    “I met with my pastor last week,” she told us (and I could tell by her tone that we were in for one of her minisermons). “And he thinks that our band should only do music that’s glorifying to God.”
    I nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I think too.” “Me too,” agreed Allie.
    Laura shook her head. “That’s not exactly true.”
    “What do you mean?” I slumped down onto the couch, slowly closing my eyes and promising myself that I would listen to her completely—without judging or defending or getting mad. I opened my eyes in time to see Allie flop down on the couch beside me. She looked totally exasperated. But then she’s been a little edgy ever since she decided to give up smoking last week—another thing that Laura could not abide. It had actually been getting pretty comical the way Allie would sneak a smoke when Laura wasn’tlooking, then frantically use breath spray and cologne to try to cover it up. Usually unsuccessfully.
    “Okay, Laura, what gives?” asked Allie in an irritated voice.
    “Well, it’s hard to explain, especially to people who don’t want to listen in the first place.”
    “Hey, that’s not fair.” I sat up straighter. “I want to hear what you have to say.”
    Laura still didn’t look completely convinced. “Well, Pastor Rawlins says that everything we do should glorify God.”
    “Uh-huh.” I nodded. “I agree with that.”
    “Yeah, me too.” Allie leaned back and sighed as if this was a complete waste of time.
    “But not all our songs are glorifying to God.”
    “What do you mean?” I tried to remain calm.
    “What about the tree song?” she asked. “Or the Cinderella song?”
    “What about them?” I tossed back.
    Laura folded her arms across her chest. “They don’t have one single word about God in them.”
    “Huh?” I blinked at her.
    “God isn’t in them—those songs don’t glorify Him at all.”
    I stood up. “God is too in them! God is all over them, inside and out, between the lines and—well—everywhere.”
    “Yeah!” said Allie.
    “How do you know for sure?” asked Laura.
    Allie shrugged and glanced my direction. “Hey, I might not know how to explain it, but I just know it.”
    “Well, Pastor Rawlins doesn’t think so.”
    “What does he know about our songs?”
    “He’s read all of the lyrics.”
    I scratched my head. Something about this felt wrong, although I couldn’t put my finger on why. “Your pastor’s read all my lyrics? Why’d you give him my lyrics?”
    Laura looked down at her feet and twisted one of her beaded braids between her fingers (a new hairstyle that looks really cool on her). As I waited for her answer, I studied her for a long moment, and it occurred to me that she’s been slowly changing her appearance—and not just for performances either. I guess I hadn’t really been paying attention, but with her hair like that and wearing those low-riding jeans with frayed hems, well, she looked